Traffic officer shoots bus driver in Kamwala

A traffic officer this afternoon shot a bus driver in the stomach following an argument in Kamwala.

“The incident happened around 15:50 hours,” an eye witness narrated.

“We were driving on the road behind Kamwala shopping center going towards Kafue road and there was a lot of traffic. So this Flash bus driver was overtaking a long line of vehicles. But just before he passed Kamwala prison, there was a traffic police car coming in front.”

The witnesses narrated that the police car flashed lights signaling the bus driver to stop and pull over.

“After he stopped, two uniformed officers approached him and they started arguing whilst the driver was still sitting in the bus. It’s like the officer wanted the bus keys but the driver was refusing to surrender them. All over a sudden, we heard a loud bang and moments later the traffic officers sped off. They just left and we didn’t know what happened,” narrated the witness.

“Next thing, we saw people surround the bus and then I saw a passenger leaving the bus with blood on the leg. She was in pain and she couldn’t talk properly. So this other passenger said ‘the officer was drunk and he has shot the driver in the stomach. It’s like the bullet went through and shot the girl in the leg’. When we checked, we found that the driver’s light blue shirt was washed in blood and he was touching his stomach while gasping for air. The passengers were crying and devastated. They kept on asking ‘what is happening in this country?’ There was too much confusion and l left because I feared that the people may start stoning cars.”

When contacted, Lusaka Province police commissioner Nelson Phiri said he had not yet received the report.

“I don’t have that report, let me find out,” said Phiri.

News Diggers! is currently verifying the details of the vehicles involved as well as checking on the victims at UTH.